The basic premise of this project is simple:
The internet decides the game. Grey Brick Studio attempts to build it.
However, letting thousands of strangers design a game requires a few rules.
Without them, someone will eventually suggest replacing the entire combat system with a fully simulated horse economy, and we will all end up in court.
These are the rules governing the project.
RULE 1: MAJOR VOTES ARE PUBLIC
The major creative decisions are made through public votes on our social channels.
You do not need to purchase anything to participate.
Supporting Grey Brick Studio does not provide additional votes, increased voting power or access to a separate set of decisions.
A free vote counts exactly the same as a supporter’s vote.
RULE 2: MONEY DOES NOT BUY CONTROL
Supporting the project helps us pay development expenses.
It does not allow someone to purchase a boss, force a character into the game, change the outcome of a vote or override the rest of the community.
Shop products may provide personalized digital collectibles or recognition, but those products do not guarantee inclusion in the game.
We are building a game designed by the internet, not an auction where the highest bidder becomes creative director.
RULE 3: THE COMMUNITY CHOOSES THE IDEA
The community determines the creative direction.
Grey Brick Studio determines how that idea is implemented.
For example, the internet may decide that the first enemy is a giant egg. It is then our responsibility to determine how the egg moves, attacks, breaks and functions inside the game.
The winning concept will be respected, but some technical interpretation will always be necessary.
RULE 4: IMPOSSIBLE IDEAS WILL BE EXPLAINED
We are beginners building an independent game with limited resources.
Some ideas may be technically impossible, legally dangerous or wildly outside the scope of the project.
If a winning choice cannot be built as presented, we will explain the problem publicly and offer the closest realistic alternatives.
We will not quietly replace a winner because we personally preferred something else.
RULE 5: CONCEPT ART IS NOT A FINISHED ASSET
Images posted during development may include sketches, generated concepts, placeholder models, mockups, references and experiments.
These images show what we are exploring. They do not represent a finished game.
Every image will be identified as one of the following:
Concept only
Being prototyped
Voted into canon
Rejected
Final
There will probably not be many images marked final for quite some time.
RULE 6: HUBERT IS AN EMPLOYEE, NOT A PROMISE
Hubert is our current mannequin, stunt performer and visual placeholder.
He exists because we needed something with arms and legs, and he was available.
His appearance does not necessarily represent the final character model.
Please stop asking about his medical condition.
RULE 7: COMMUNITY SUBMISSIONS MUST BE ORIGINAL
Do not submit copyrighted characters, company logos, private information or work stolen from another artist.
Submitting an idea does not transfer ownership of unrelated artwork or create a promise that the submission will be used.
If we eventually accept substantial community-created work for the actual game, permissions and credit will be handled separately and clearly.
RULE 8: WE WILL NOT PRETEND THE GAME IS FURTHER ALONG THAN IT IS
There is currently no playable game.
There is no release date.
There is no preorder.
We will show progress when progress exists, and we will show failures when everything catches fire.
The purpose of this experiment is to document the entire process honestly.
That includes the stupid parts, the ugly parts and the moments when we discover that something voted into the game is much harder to build than anybody expected.
Those are the rules.
The internet decides.
We build.
Hubert suffers.